A Doctor's Lament
by Aliceindeath
Summary: A new girl has come to Mineral Town in the hopes of thriving on her farm, but what she unearths might unravel everything the doctor wants to keep a secret.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

"Thank you, Mayor. I really appreciate you helping me around town." I said, smiling.

"It's no problem, really! It's what I'm here for. A small town like this doesn't often have need for a mayor, so I'm glad I could help someone." He said, enthusiastically.

"It's… been a long time since I've been here, so I'm afraid I've lost my orientation a little." I said whilst looking down at my shoes. Had it really been ten years?

"In that case, why don't you let me give you this map? It shows all the establishments here in Mineral town, as well as the times they open and close. I think you'll find it useful for sure." He said as he handed me a small sheet of paper.

"Be sure to remind me to repay you for your kindness." I smiled, putting the map in my rucksack.

"No need! However, I might encourage you to enter a few animals into the contests we have throughout the year." He said, winking. "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of unpacking to do. I'll leave you be, but be sure to come to me if you have any questions, alright?"

"For sure." I said, nodding.

"Oh, and Alice? Be sure to introduce yourself to the people in town, as they'll definitely want to meet you."

I took a mental note to do so later, and walked back into my house as the Mayor left my property.

That's right.

It was MY property now. He had left it to me, all those years ago. He told me to come back, and I did, every summer until ten years ago. I had to finish school, work, and earn money… We wrote to each other, though, until one day he never wrote back. I got a letter from the Mayor later, saying that he had died peacefully in his sleep, simply from old age. Later in the letter, it told us that he had left me his farm and everything on it, including the money he had saved up, which was not much.

It was enough, though, mind you. Enough to start up to farm and buy a few chickens to start, along with feed and incubators. Plus, the money I had saved up from working all those summers did have its advantages. I decided to come here and live on the farm, away from the city instead of selling it for a few reasons; the property in its entirety meant the world to me. So many memories of us fishing along the stream, tending the crops in the fields, or even collecting the apples from the tree close to the house. The days were calming, but the nights were better. It was always quiet and dark, away from all the light pollution from the cities. It was… magical. It was the kind of state of being that washed away your worries and replaced them with feelings of peace.

After a couple hours of reminiscing and unpacking, I decided to take a break and do just what the Mayor told me I should do; meet the people of Mineral town. Walking off my property, I decided to head down first to the poultry store, where I'd most likely be buying my chickens.

A girl with soft pink hair came out into the yard with chicken grain in a small silver bucket. I stopped by the gate and observed how she fed them. They came right up to her, jumping for the feed in the bucket. As soon as she was done, she looked up and caught my gaze.

"Oh! You must be the new girl!" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I said quizzically.

"Well," she said, thinking. "the mayor said you'd be short and have blonde hair. And he said you'd been here before, and everybody knows everybody here. Plus, we don't get a lot of visitors from around here, so I guessed."

"Well, you'd be correct. I was wondering if I'd be able to buy a couple chickens for my coop?" I asked.

"Yeah! Just let me get my brother Rick… he should be inside." She was about to walk in before poking her head back out. "By the way, my name's Popuri!"

"I'm Alice." I said, smiling.

I waited by the chickens as she went to go get her brother. Moments later, she came out with a brown-haired taller man, the look of exhaustion plastered on his face.

"Hey, I'm Rick. My sister told me you wanted to buy a couple chickens?"

I nodded. "I'm Alice. And yeah, I figured that starting out with a few chickens is best."

"And you'd be absolutely correct. So, we'll help you put your chickens in your coop, along with some feed. Does that sound alright?"

"Yeah! That sounds fantastic. So… how much will all that be?"

"Well, since you're new here, I'll give you a discount. How does 200G sound for all of it together?"

"Thank you so much! That's… really very nice of you. If ever I can repay you, please, just let me know."

He smiled. "That won't be necessary. I'll carry them over now, if you'd like?"

"That's perfect. Can I help you carry something?"

"If you can, could you carry a chicken?"

"Yeah! I'll do my best…"

We both picked up a chicken from the pen, after a bit of struggling. We both walked together to my farm, carrying a chicken each.

"So, Rick, who else is in this town? What do they do?" I asked.

"Well, there's the doctor, who has his clinic up in the north end with Elli, his assistant. There's Karen, who works in the General Store with her mom, Sasha, and her dad, Jeff. Saibara and Gray, his grandson, own the blacksmith shop together. Barley and May, his granddaughter, work at the livestock store in town, next door to us. Mary owns the library in town, and Doug and Ann own the Inn."

"That's a lot to rememeber…" I said, shaking my head.

"Hah, yeah, but I think once you've lived here for a while, it all becomes easier to remember."

"I hope so." I sighed, putting the chicken down in the coop. I stood up straight and stretched my arms. "Thank you for helping me out today, by the way. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Rick said. "You should probably go see the doctor next though, just so he knows about you in case of an emergency."

"I think I'll do that." I said.

"I'll see you later, alright?" he said, walking out.

"Yeah, for sure."

I went back inside my house, washing my hands and face, before leaving my property and heading towards the north of town to go see the doctor, as Rick had suggested. I walked up to the building with the sign "clinic" in front. As I was about to walk up to the steps, a tall man with shaggy, black hair walked out. He was looking down at some papers when he stopped and picked his head up, looking straight at me.

"You must be Alice." He said softly. "I'm the doctor. How may I help you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

"Yeah, uhm, how did you know?" I asked nervously.

"I know everyone in this town. Considering I've never seen you before, and not many travelers come into my clinic, I assumed." He said, indifferently.

"Well, I was told I should come here to… meet you and get assessed."

"Fair point. Aright, please step in to my office so we can start a file."

I followed the doctor into the small clinic, and entered the small room with a bed, stool and a nightstand, surrounded by curtains.

"Please, sit down." He gestured to the bed, and I obliged.

"Now," he started. "Do you have any allergies? Any past medical conditions? Are you taking any mediations?" He asked.

"No." I said.

"Alright. Now, if you could please open your mouth…" he said, taking out a popsicle stick from his pocket.

I opened my mouth, as he told me to.

"Perfect. I'm going to now put the stethoscope on your back, okay?"

I nodded.

"Please take a deep breath…"

I did as he told me, and he listened to my lungs.

"It seems you're done here. You're in pretty good shape, Alice."

"Thank you, doctor." I said, fixing my shirt.

"If you ever need anything, please come see me. If you'd like to buy any booster drinks, you can go see Elli at the counter."

I nodded silently, and left the clinic. I returned to my property and made sure my chickens had enough feed for the rest of the day. I shipped some honey and apples to be picked up later that day, and I walked past the bridge south of my farm, which led to a trail into the forest.

After walking for a few short moments, I found a hot spring near a mine opening and a small lake. I quickly decided that after such a long day, I deserved a bit of a break. I slipped off my farming clothes and gently stepped into the hot, steamy water.

I had had my eyes closed, relaxing for a short while when I heard someone walk by. My eyes sprung open while I lowered my body into the water, trying to cover as much as my naked, exposed body as I could. A few seconds passed before I saw someone in a brown coat walk in the enclosed area of trees with a white towel.

He looked up, meeting my eyes, and jumped. "Oh my Goddess. I am so sorry, I didn't know anyone was here. Usually, no one is… oh Goddess I'm making this worse…"

I had to smile at his shyness. "It's all right. I'll be getting out shortly anyway."

"Hey, wait, aren't you Alice?" he asked.

"Yeah. It seems everyone knows me before I know them, so honestly I shouldn't be that shocked." I said, shrugging.

"I saw you walking with Rick, and asked him who you were while he was walking back, so that's the only reason why I knew." He said.

"Did you know someone new was moving into town?" I asked.

"Not really, actually. I'm a blacksmith apprentice-" he started.

"Oh! You're Gray!" I said.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he said, quizzically.

"Rick told me about a few people in town, and mentioned you and your grandfather." I explained.

"Oh. Well yeah, Saibara is my grandfather," he continued. "and he works me pretty hard, so I don't spend much time outside the forge, especially not talking to people very much. On my days off, I either go to the library, or sometimes, I come here." He explained.

"That's rough." I said, sympathizing.

"Yeah, but it's what I love doing. I just have to keep in mind that every criticism I get will ultimately make me better at what I'm passionate about."

"That's a good way to look at it." I smiled. His passion was definitely strong enough to make me smile.

"Have you met anyone else from town besides me and Rick?"

"Yeah, actually, I met his sister Popuri, and the doctor, and of course the mayor."

His face darkened a bit when I mentioned the doctor. "I'd suggest perhaps not getting too close with the doctor."

"Why's that?" I asked hesitantly.

"There's just…" he started. "something off about him. I'm not sure what, but when I was in the mines looking for ore, I found him down there as well, searching for something. He told me to turn back, that it was off-limits right now. I mean, what purpose does a doctor have in the mines, looking for metals?" he said, in a monotone voice.

"I suppose you're right, but regardless, I'll have to know him. He's the only doctor here." I said.

"True, but honestly, I'm not sure what exactly, but something isn't right with how he's been doing things lately. I can feel it." He finished.

I tried shifting the conversation off of the topic of the doctor. "What do you do in the mines?"

"My grandfather told me that I need to learn how to find the materials I need to work by myself, so I should go off on my own to get them." He said, much happier this time.

"I see. That seems like really hard work." I said.

"Yeah, but it has its advantages. It lets me escape everyone else for a while, so it isn't so bad." He shrugged.

"Hey um, I think I'll be getting out now so if you could uh…" I stammered.

"O-oh! Right! Of course." He said, turning around while trying to hide his blushing face. Of course, it was already too late, seeing as I'd seen it moments before he turned away.

I quickly got out of the water and into the small changing room, where I put on my overalls, and opened the door.

"I'm done now, you can turn around." I teased.

"Good..! So, I'll catch you later, okay?" he said, the blood still in his cheeks.

"Yeah, for sure! I'm positive I'll be by the shop at some point soon, so I'll definitely see you soon." I said, smiling as I walked away.

I felt happy. I really did, but something was nagging at my subconscious. What was it about the doctor that Gray had a problem with?

A/N I hope you're liking it so far, as things will be picking up soon. I haven't quite decided an update schedule yet, but for now I'm just working on getting some chapters out. Considering I have another Borderlands 2 fanfic I update on Wednesdays from now on, as well as another pending Legend of Zelda story, I'll see what I'll be doing. What most likely will be happening is that I'll update this story on Mondays, the Borderlands 2 fanfic on Wednesdays, and I'll post the first chapters to my Legend of Zelda fic soon, to be updated every Friday. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy my writing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

I couldn't stop thinking about what Gray was saying, but I had to push it to the back of my mind. A few days had gone by since our talk, and I was tending to my cows and chickens when I heard someone come in quietly. I snapped my head around to see who it was, but I quickly realized that it was just the doctor.

"Hey there. I just wanted to see how you were doing." He said, calmly.

"I-I'm fine. I was just surprised that you came in." I said, my heart still beating quickly from the shock.

"Oh, well I'm sorry to have startled you. I was wondering something…" he trailed off, still standing in the doorway.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Have you ever been to Forget-Me-Not Valley?" He asked.

"No, I don't think I have. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just thinking of going there. For some research, you know?"

"That sounds… nice. But, if you'd pardon my asking, why are you telling _me_ this?" I asked.

"Because I was wondering if you knew the area at all. I'm looking for someone who knows the Valley to accompany me while I'm staying there, but it looks as if I'll be going alone." He said, disparagingly.

"If it's any consolation, I have a map of the Valley, if you'd like to borrow it?" I said, hopeful.

"Why do you have a map if you've never been?" He asked.

"I just had one in case I ever went…" I said.

"Well, that's not a bad idea… can you read maps well?"

"Yeah, I mean, I took cartography classes in college back where I was from."

After a short pause, he spoke. "Would you like to accompany me?"

"I… don't know. I mean, who would take care of my animals…?" I said, doubtfully.

"I could hire someone nearby to look over the farm for you, if you'd like?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me… is it alright if I think about it?" I asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of making you make a rash decision." He said, a bit disappointed. "Could you let me know tomorrow?"

"Yeah, no problem. Thank you for stopping by and asking me, though."

He nodded, and then left back out the barn door.

I stood there, thinking for a while. I wasn't sure what I should've done. It seemed like a good decision, being able to go off to a new place and enjoy it, but it somehow felt… odd. I couldn't get what Gray had said out of my head. He was wrong, and this wasn't any different. But I had to find out why.

A few hours after he had shown up at my barn, I went looking for him again at his clinic. Once I had found him, told him what I had wanted.

"I'll go. To Forget-Me-Not Valley." I had said, quickly.

He was taken off guard for a moment, but regained his composure. "Alright." He said, delighted. "We'll make plans tomorrow morning." He said with a smile.

I couldn't help but wonder what was hidden beneath his charisma.


End file.
